The Peacekeepers
}} (Pocket TNG) | number = 2 | author = Gene DeWeese | editor = | publisher = Pocket Books | format = paperback | published = | reprint = 1988 & 1991 | pages = 310 | ISBN = ISBN 067166929X (1988 Pocket); ISBN 1852860707 (1988 Titan); ISBN 1852860707 (1991) | date = 2364 | stardate = | altcover = }} The Peacekeepers is a 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by Gene DeWeese, the second book in Pocket Books' line of numbered TNG novels. Description thumb|left|[[Space station.]] :Exploring a deserted alien spaceship, Lieutenant Commander Data and Lieutenant Geordi La Forge suddenly find themselves transported light-years away—into the middle of a deadly conflict! :While Captain Picard and the crew of the search feverishly for the missing crewmen, Data and La Forge discover they are in a station almost identical to the one they were exploring, high in orbit around an Earth-type world. Years before, the occupants of that planet accidentally stumbled onto the ship and its advanced technology—and since then have used its weapons to keep the nations on the planet below disarmed, and at peace. :Now their own arrival has precipitated a crisis on the station. Somehow, Data and La Forge must find a way to restore trust between the planet below and the station's guardians up above—before a final, destructive war breaks out! Summary The Enterprise discovers a 10,000 year old derelict adrift in space. An away team boards the ship to investigate, accidentally setting off the vessel's self-destruct sequence. Though the disaster is averted, La Forge and Data disappear, as the craft forcibly transports them to a distant station of similar construction. Riker and Yar return to attempt a rescue mission, again setting off the destruct protocol, but they are also transported before the ship is finally destroyed. Unfortunately, the locator beacon they brought with them malfunctions, leaving the Enterprise to begin a method search from scratch. thumb|[[Planet.]] The long-distance transport delivers both pairs of officers to a Repository orbiting a distant world. Data and La Forge meet the leader of the orbital society, Shar-Lon, who believes them to be “Builders,” here to judge his use of their “Gifts.” The officers play along until they can learn more about their situation. Shar-Lon tells of his people’s recent history. Fifty years earlier, their species was threatened by mutually-assured destruction from the contentious nation-states’ nuclear arsenals. Shar-Lon ventured into orbit, where he had a vision of his planet turned red with blood (likely a red-shift of the Repository’s failing cloaking device). He risked his life to board the structure and, declaring himself worthy, claimed the “Gifts” for himself. He used the advanced technology to steal and destroy all of the nuclear payloads from his planet, then installed himself as the head of a new faith, and claimed all orbiting O’Neill-style habitats for his followers, the “Peacekeepers,” ultimately banishing all dissenters to the planet’s surface. Shar-Lon’s brother, Shar-Tel, had fought his sibling but had seemingly perished in the conflict. In truth, he survived and became the leader of the dissidents, hidden away on another orbital station. Shar-Tel makes contact with Data and La Forge, revealing the secret truths behind Shar-Lon’s rise to power and soliciting their aid. Simultaneously, Shar-Lon’s second-in-command, Kel-Nar, moves to seize power for himself. With Shar-Lon out of commission, the dissidents on the planet launch a fleet in their own bid to remove the Peacekeepers from power. La Forge and Kel-Nar vie to gain control of the “Gifts,” but both the Starfleet team and Kel-Nar’s loyalist are expelled from the central chamber via transporter by the Repository’s computer. The officers find themselves adrift in space (thankfully having enough time to don EVA gear). The Enterprise’s search finally proves fruitful, and the starship arrives just in time to rescue Riker, Yar, Data, and Shar-Tel, while La Forge is able to make his way back inside the Repository. The alien computer tries its “initimdate” mode against the Enterprise, assuming the appearance of a massive battlecruiser, though this fails. La Forge is also rescued, and Shar-Lon survives the mutiny long enough to activate the Repository’s destruct sequence. Kel-Nar and his followers escape the structure, but are captured and arrested. Shar-Tel’s allies from the surface gain control of the orbital habitats and plan to eradicate all of the Peacekeepers, including Shar-Tel and his loyalists from the stations, as they “cannot be trusted.” Worf and Shar-Tel stage a holographic ruse to convince everyone to unify against extraterrestrial threats, ensuring that Shar-Tel and his people will be spared and reintegrated into their society. The Enterprise quietly withdraws. Study of the advanced ship and station reveal that they are the products of an ancient but paranoid species that set up many sentinel bases to keep possible future threat species safely confined to their homeworlds. The structures have several defense mechanisms, including a final stopgap of a self-destruct in order to keep their advanced technology out of “enemy” hands. References Characters :Argyle • Brindle • Carpelli • Beverly Crusher • Data • Gawelski • Kel-Nar • Geordi La Forge • Jean-Luc Picard • William T. Riker • Shar-Lon • Shar-Tel • • Deanna Troi • Worf • Tasha Yar • [[uSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) personnel|USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) personnel]] • [[unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) personnel|unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) personnel]] Tin Woodman • Toto • Wicked Witch of the West • The Wizard Starships and vehicles : • Peacekeeper shuttlecraft Locations Oz Shipboard locations ;USS Enterprise-D : bridge • transporter room • turbolift ;Derelict station : corridor Stations and outposts :unnamed space stations (deep space derelict, Peacekeepers' World station) Starfleet Academy Planetary locales Kansas Planets and planetoids :Peacekeepers' World Earth Stars and systems :Peacekeepers' system Sol Astronomical regions :the galaxy • Orion Arm Races and cultures :android • Betazoid • Builders • Human • Peacekeepers • Klingon Ferengi • unnamed races and cultures (pre-contacted species) States and organizations :Council of Peacemakers • Federation • Starfleet Science Technology and weapons :alarm • cloaking device • combadge • computer • deflector shield • EV suit • field-effect suit (likely an EV suit) • hibernation module • impulse engine • missile • nuclear weapon • O'Neill space habitat • phaser • photon torpedo • projectile weapon • radiation suit • remote repair unit • self-destruct • space station • spaceship • starship • subspace circuitry • subspace radio • transporter • tricorder • turbolift • universal translator • viewscreen • VISOR • warp engine Substances and energies :antimatter • atmosphere • gas • gravity • metal • oxygen • radiation • steel Lifeforms :alien • animal • goose • humanoid Ranks and titles :captain • chairman • Chairman of the Council of Peacemakers • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • counselor • crewman • engineer • ensign • Federation Starfleet ranks • Federation Starfleet ranks (2350s-2360s) • first officer • flight controller • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • lieutenant junior grade • officer • operations manager • police • science officer • second officer • security chief • specialist • tactical officer Other references :airlock • anatomy • away team • brain • chess • city • class M planet • clothing • communications • coordinate • decade • energy • first contact • G class star • government • heart • kilometer • lifeform • light-year • liver • lung • matter • meter • military • minute • nation-state • orbit • parsec • planet • planetary classification • prison • prison planet • psychology • races and cultures • rank • saucer section • second • space • spectrography • star • star system • stellar classification • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2350s-2366) • technology • time • title • uniform • universe • war • weapon • The Wizard of Oz • year Chronology ;tens of thousands of years ago : Derelict vessels built. ;20th and 21st centuries : Geordi estimated the alien airlock to be on par with the technology of this era. ;2310s : Fifty years prior to the Enterprise visit, Shar-Lon uses the Builders' gifts to take power on his world. ;2364 : Enterprise-D finishes an exploration tour without encountering Ferengi, encounters derelict. Appendices Background A timeline released by DC Comics places this novel sometime after “When the Bough Breaks,” and sometime before “Hide and Q.” The Pocket Books timeline for 2364 places this novel after "Hide and Q" but before "Too Short a Season". This is made problematic, however, by Chief Engineer Argyle's reference in chapter four to Assistant Chief Engineer Singh retrieving a remote repair unit from storage aboard the Enterprise. Assistant Chief Engineer Singh was killed several episodes prior, in "Lonely Among Us", necessitating a placement for this story before that episode. This is further complicated, however, by a reference late in the book to Geordi's experience with momentarily having ordinary sight in "Hide and Q", which officially takes place after "Lonely Among Us". The only possible solution, aided by the episodic nature of Season 1, is to place "Hide and Q" before "Lonely Among Us" and then place "The Peacekeepers" between those episodes, thereby placing Geordi's momentary normal sight at a time when Singh had not yet been murdered. Images the Peacekeepers cover.jpg|Cover image die Friedenswachter.jpg|German language edition cover image. die FriedenswachterE.jpg|German language re-issue edition cover image. peacekeepersUK.jpg|Overseas edition cover image. jlpPeacekeepers.jpg|Jean-Luc Picard. deannaPeacekeepers.jpg|Deanna Troi. worfPeacekeepers.jpg|Worf. peacekeepersStation.jpg|Space station. peacekeepersPlanet.jpg|Planet. friedenswachterPlanet.jpg|Planet. Connections Timeline The book was first published by Pocket Books in September 1988, with a near simultaneous release in the UK printed by Titan Books. The book was reprinted by Pocket Books in 1991. External link * category:tNG novels